Randolph aims to get ahead of heroin problem

Thursday

Aug 15, 2013 at 12:01 AMAug 15, 2013 at 3:08 PM

Randolph has had fewer overdoses involving heroin and similar drugs than some of its neighbors, but members of a new town coalition aimed at combating opiate abuse say that means it’s the perfect time to tackle the problem.

Christian Schiavone

Randolph has had fewer overdoses involving heroin and similar drugs than some of its neighbors, but members of a new town coalition aimed at combating opiate abuse say that means it’s the perfect time to tackle the problem.

“Our numbers are very small, so we have a window of opportunity to get information out and perhaps prevent us getting to the level other communities have,” said Cheryl Cates, the town’s public health nurse and the point person for the new group.

The coalition, the first of its kind in Randolph, is taking up the issue of heroin and prescription drugs like OxyContin in town as part of a new regional partnership with Quincy, Weymouth, Braintree and Stoughton focused on curbing drug use.

Among the five communities, Randolph was lowest in both the average number of fatal and non-fatal overdoses – 16.7 – in the three-year period from 2008 through 2010 and in the per-capita rate, according to information from the state Department of Public Health that was presented at the meeting.

Quincy had the highest average number of overdoses with 95 and Weymouth had the highest rate of overdoses in that period.

Representatives of Randolph’s police department, school department, board of health and council on aging attended the coalition’s first meeting Wednesday at Randolph Town Hall, along with a local pharmacist and a nurse.

Members of Impact Quincy, which is heading the regional partnership, also attended.

Police, elected officials and activists in communities throughout the South Shore have said heroin and prescription-painkiller abuse in the region has become an epidemic that’s leading to crime, arrests and deaths.

Cates said Randolph can learn from the efforts of similar community-level anti-drug groups that already exist in the other four communities.

There were 11 overdose deaths involving heroin or prescription drugs with similar effects, called opioids, in Randolph in 2010 through 2012, according to data from death certificates compiled by the town. A 56-year-old man also died of the effects of long-term heroin abuse during that period.

The average age of the 11 men and one woman who died of overdoses was about 40.

Police Chief William Pace said heroin ranks behind marijuana and cocaine among the most common drugs officers deal with. He said drugs are linked to crime and that the department has stepped up enforcement over the past few years.

“It’s good to get ahead of a problem before it hits you,” he said, referring to heroin use in town.

Several members of the group stressed the importance of educating teens about the dangers of prescription drugs.

Cheryl Parsons, the nurse at Randolph High School, said she has heard stories from students about parties where kids drink a concoction of the prescription painkiller codeine and alcohol called “lean” or “dirty Sprite.”

“The stories the kids tell me after they all get together and have these codeine parties are really scary,” she said.

Christian Schiavone may be reached at cschiavone@ledger.com or follow him on Twitter @CSchiavo_Ledger.